Cloudscapes is a piece which fills the 300-metre long Corderie dell'Arsenale -- a huge Venetian space that was once used to make ropes and cables for the Italian navy. The idea is that clouds act not only as nature’s framing tool but also as a source of inspiration to people who like to see shapes in them.

The cloud is made up of droplets of water floating in the space. The air above and below the cloud has different properties, created through climate engineering. Three layers of air are pumped into the room: cool dry air (18°C and 40 percent relative humidity) is put at the bottom to keep the cloud afloat. Hot humid air (25°C and 100 percent relative humidity) is placed in the middle to create the dense fog, and hot dry air (37°C and 60% relative humidity) is pumped at the top. A series of Martin Professional smoke machines create condensation seeds that render the cloud visible.

The room is filled with a winding system of ramps to allow visitors to walk through the clouds and experience the three different climates in the room.

The installation is echoed by a virtual Cloudscape: an online platform where people can post their innovative ideas about sustainable design. The first stage for this is an online competition -- the Cloudscapes Award -- which invites people to submit their ideas for sustainable design.

The Award is looking for developments with regards to a building façade which might have an impact on energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality or outdoor environmental quality. Entrants must submit a sketch of their idea and a short description of their piece. An expert jury will award the best idea $10,000. Click here to view a video explaining the competition.